American Ambassador to Uganda HE William W.Popp has challenged University leaders in the country to closely work with healthcare experts and service providers in ensuring that students are sensitized on the importance of staying healthy.
Popp made the remarks while launching the University Students health Hubs during a two day National students’ health conference under the theme ‘Students at the forefront, Innovations and solutions for SHR, HIV, Mental health, and GBV held at the Makerere University public health auditorium.
The conference organized by Own Your Future campus Initiative [OYF] aimed at promoting health care information dissemination to the student communities covering the medical areas of HIV, Mental health, Sexual and reproductive health rights [SRHR] and gender based violence [GBV] among others.
The ambassador noted that it is important for University leaders to devise means of equipping students with key information on health.
He pointed out that his government in Washington DC continues to remain instrumental in supporting the Uganda country health care system strengthening program through the PEPFAR targeting to provide interventions to improve the health of young people in areas such as Malaria, HIV and Tuberculosis [TB] among others.
He commended the leadership of the OYF campus initiative for organizing the conference which is the first of its kind which shall go a long way in building the capacity of the University student community get exposed to key healthcare information as the stakeholders and partners in development can send in experts to share and discuss key technical health related information beneficial to the students.
The commissioner for reproductive and child health in the ministry of health Dr.Richard Mugahi on behalf of the minister of health Dr. Ruth Aceng noted that the government was rolling out strategic programs targeting at addressing the medical challenges the students face such as SHR, HIV, Mental health and gender based violence among others.
He urged the students to avoid reckless lifestyles which might endanger their health but to ensure that they seek education while at Campus and not getting trapped into reckless sexual escapades.
The country director AHF Uganda Cares Henry Magala appealed to the ministries of health and education to ensure that the comprehensive sexuality education [CSE] program for schools was effectively implemented such that students at the various levels of learning can internalize these health preventive messages for their own future good.
The UNESCO National program officer education for health and wellbeing Teddy Nabwire chimulwa revealed that having carried out a survey on HIV among the Universities of Makerere, Ndejje and KIU, it emerged that some students were not using condoms as required which endangers their health.
‘We managed to carry out a survey among the student communities of Makerere, KIU and Ndejje and it emerged that out of the 9,386 students interviewed about condom usage during sexual escapades, 50% said they did not use condoms and a total of 38 students happened to have contracted HIV as a result’ lamented.
She called for collective efforts by all stakeholders to support these student populations by way of giving them key messages of protecting them from deadly infections.
The executive director Reproductive health Uganda [RHU] Jackson Chekweko said they are carrying out several interventions in ensuring that these populations of students who are extremely vulnerable to infections are given vital information which can guide them how best to avoid temptations of falling victim to infections.
The team leader of OYF Campus Initiative Brenda Katushabe thanked the first lady and minister of education and sports Janet Kataha Museveni for recently officiating at the launch of the program saying it had fed into the launch of the students health Hubs which shall go a long way in empowering students to live responsibly
Other development partners included UNESCO, UNICEF, Uganda Aids Commission [UAC], Naguru Teenage Centre, RHU, AHF Uganda Cares and the ministries of health and education respectively.
